TY - JOUR A1 - Wood, Danielle A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Turn the beat around: Commentary on "Slow and fast beat sequences are represented differently through space" (De Tommaso & Prpic, 2020, in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics) JF - Attention, perception, & psychophysics : AP&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc. N2 - There has been increasing interest in the spatial mapping of various perceptual and cognitive magnitudes, such as expanding the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect into domains outside of numerical cognition. Recently, De Tommaso and Prpic (Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82, 2765-2773, 2020) reported in this journal that only fast tempos over 104 beats per minute have spatial associations, with more right-sided associations and faster responses for faster tempos. After discussing the role of perceived loudness and possible response strategies, we propose and recommend methodological improvements for further research. KW - Distance effect KW - Music cognition KW - Pitch KW - magnitude association KW - Semantic KW - congruity effect KW - SMARC KW - Sound recognition KW - Spatial cognition Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-021-02247-8 SN - 1943-3921 SN - 1943-393X VL - 83 IS - 4 SP - 1518 EP - 1521 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Sery, Noa A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - 1 + 2 is more than 2 + 1: Violations of commutativity and identity axioms in mental arithmetic JF - Journal of cognitive psychology N2 - Over the past decade or so, a large number of studies have revealed that conceptual meaning is sensitive to situational context. More recently, similar contextual influences have been documented in the domain of number knowledge. Here we show such context dependency in a length production task. Adult participants saw single digit addition problems of the form n1 + n2 and produced the sum by changing bi-directionally the length of a horizontally extended line, using radially arranged buttons. We found that longer lines were produced when n1 < n2 compared to n1 > n2 and that unit size increased with result size. Thus, the mathematical axioms of commutativity and identity do not seem to hold in mental addition. We discuss implications of these observations for our understanding of cognitive mechanisms involved in mental arithmetic and for situated cognition generally. KW - Operand order effect KW - Situated cognition KW - Mental number line KW - SNARC KW - Operational momentum Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.973414 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 471 EP - 477 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Pinhas, Michal A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Heuristics and biases in mental arithmetic BT - revisiting and reversing operational momentum JF - Thinking & Reasoning N2 - Mental arithmetic is characterised by a tendency to overestimate addition and to underestimate subtraction results: the operational momentum (OM) effect. Here, motivated by contentious explanations of this effect, we developed and tested an arithmetic heuristics and biases model that predicts reverse OM due to cognitive anchoring effects. Participants produced bi-directional lines with lengths corresponding to the results of arithmetic problems. In two experiments, we found regular OM with zero problems (e.g., 3+0, 3-0) but reverse OM with non-zero problems (e.g., 2+1, 4-1). In a third experiment, we tested the prediction of our model. Our results suggest the presence of at least three competing biases in mental arithmetic: a more-or-less heuristic, a sign-space association and an anchoring bias. We conclude that mental arithmetic exhibits shortcuts for decision-making similar to traditional domains of reasoning and problem-solving. KW - Heuristics KW - mental arithmetic KW - mental number line KW - operational momentum KW - problem-solving Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2017.1348987 SN - 1354-6783 SN - 1464-0708 VL - 24 IS - 2 SP - 138 EP - 156 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Goebel, Silke M. T1 - Direction counts A comparative study of spatially directional counting biases in cultures with different reading directions JF - Journal of experimental child psychology N2 - Western adults associate small numbers with left space and large numbers with right space. Where does this pervasive spatial-numerical association come from? In this study, we first recorded directional counting preferences in adults with different reading experiences (left to right, right to left, mixed, and illiterate) and observed a clear relationship between reading and counting directions. We then recorded directional counting preferences in pre-schoolers and elementary school children from three of these reading cultures (left to right, right to left, and mixed). Culture-specific counting biases existed before reading acquisition in children as young as 3 years and were subsequently modified by early reading experience. Together, our results suggest that both directional counting and scanning activities contribute to number-space associations. KW - Counting KW - Numerical cognition KW - Reading direction KW - Number-space association KW - Mental Number KW - Cross-cultural Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.12.005 SN - 0022-0965 VL - 112 IS - 2 SP - 275 EP - 281 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Competing Biases in Mental Arithmetic BT - When Division Is More and Multiplication Is Less JF - Frontiers in human neuroscience N2 - Mental arithmetic exhibits various biases. Among those is a tendency to overestimate addition and to underestimate subtraction outcomes. Does such “operational momentum” (OM) also affect multiplication and division? Twenty-six adults produced lines whose lengths corresponded to the correct outcomes of multiplication and division problems shown in symbolic format. We found a reliable tendency to over-estimate division outcomes, i.e., reverse OM. We suggest that anchoring on the first operand (a tendency to use this number as a reference for further quantitative reasoning) contributes to cognitive biases in mental arithmetic. KW - heuristics and biases KW - numerical cognition KW - mental arithmetic KW - mental number line KW - operational momentum Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00037 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Deconstructing spatial-numerical associations JF - Cognition : international journal of cognitive science N2 - Spatial-numerical associations (SNAs) have been studied extensively in the past two decades, always requiring either explicit magnitude processing or explicit spatial-directional processing. This means that the typical finding of an association of small numbers with left or bottom space and of larger numbers with right or top space could be due to these requirements and not the conceptual representation of numbers. The present study compares explicit and implicit magnitude processing in an implicit spatial-directional task and identifies SNAs as artefacts of either explicit magnitude processing or explicit spatial-directional processing; they do not reveal spatial conceptual links. This finding requires revision of current accounts of the relationship between numbers and space. KW - Go/no-go task KW - Implicit association task KW - Numerical cognition KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.02.022 SN - 0010-0277 SN - 1873-7838 VL - 175 SP - 109 EP - 113 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Your neighbors define your value a study of spatial bias in number comparison JF - Acta psychologica : international journal of psychonomics N2 - Several chronometric biases in numerical cognition have informed our understanding of a mental number line (MNL). Complementing this approach, we investigated spatial performance in a magnitude comparison task. Participants located the larger or smaller number of a pair on a horizontal line representing the interval from 0 to 10. Experiments 1 and 2 used only number pairs one unit apart and found that digits were localized farther to the right with "select larger" instructions than with "select smaller" instructions. However, when numerical distance was varied (Experiment 3), digits were localized away from numerically near neighbors. This repulsion effect reveals context-specific distortions in number representation not previously noticed with chronometric measures. KW - Magnitude comparison KW - Mental number line KW - Numerical cognition KW - Spatial bias Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.01.004 SN - 0001-6918 VL - 142 IS - 3 SP - 308 EP - 313 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Multiple spatial mappings in numerical cognition JF - Journal of experimental psychology : Human perception and performance N2 - A recent cross-cultural comparison (Shaki, Fischer, & Petrusic, 2009) suggested that spatially consistent processing habits for words and numbers are a necessary condition for the spatial representation of numbers (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes; SNARC effect). Here we reexamine the SNARC in Israelis who read text from right to left but numbers from left to right. We show that, despite these spatially inconsistent processing habits, a SNARC effect still emerges when the response dimension is spatially orthogonal to the conflicting processing dimension. These results clarify the cognitive conditions for spatial-numerical mappings. KW - mental number line KW - reading habits KW - SNARC Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027562 SN - 0096-1523 VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 804 EP - 809 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Random walks on the mental number line JF - Experimental brain research KW - Mental number line KW - RNG KW - SNARC KW - Spatial bias KW - Walking Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3718-7 SN - 0014-4819 SN - 1432-1106 VL - 232 IS - 1 SP - 43 EP - 49 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Nothing to dance about: unclear evidence for symbolic representations and numerical competence in honeybees BT - a comment on: symbolic representation of numerosity by honeybees (Apis mellifera): matching characters to small quantities JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London : B, Biological sciences Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2840 SN - 0962-8452 SN - 1471-2954 VL - 287 IS - 1925 PB - Royal Society CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Systematic spatial distortion of quantitative estimates JF - Psychological research N2 - Magnitude estimation has been studied since the beginnings of scientific psychology and constitutes a fundamental aspect of human behavior. Yet, it has apparently never been noticed that estimates depend on the spatial arrangement used. We tested 167 adults in three experiments to show that the spatial layout of stimuli and responses systematically distorts number estimation, length production, and weight reproduction performance. The direction of distortion depends on the observer's counting habits, but does not seem to reflect the use of spatially associated number concepts. Our results imply that all quantitative estimates are contaminated by a "spell of space" whenever stimuli or responses are spatially distributed. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01390-5 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 85 IS - 6 SP - 2177 EP - 2185 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pinhas, Michal A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Heed the signs: Operation signs have spatial associations JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - Mental arithmetic shows systematic spatial biases. The association between numbers and space is well documented, but it is unknown whether arithmetic operation signs also have spatial associations and whether or not they contribute to spatial biases found in arithmetic. Adult participants classified plus and minus signs with left and right button presses under two counterbalanced response rules. Results from two experiments showed that spatially congruent responses (i.e., right-side responses for the plus sign and left-side responses for the minus sign) were responded to faster than spatially incongruent ones (i.e., left-side responses for the plus sign and right-side responses for the minus sign). We also report correlations between this novel operation sign spatial association (OSSA) effect and other spatial biases in number processing. In a control experiment with no explicit processing requirements for the operation signs there were no sign-related spatial biases. Overall, the results suggest that (a) arithmetic operation signs can evoke spatial associations (OSSA), (b) experience with arithmetic operations probably underlies the OSSA, and (c) the OSSA only partially contributes to spatial biases in arithmetic. KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Mental number line KW - Operational momentum KW - Pointing KW - Spatial-numerical association of response codes effect Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.892516 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1527 EP - 1540 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pinhas, Michal A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Addition goes where the big numbers are: evidence for a reversed operational momentum effect JF - Psychonomic bulletin & review : a journal of the Psychonomic Society N2 - Number processing evokes spatial biases, both when dealing with single digits and in more complex mental calculations. Here we investigated whether these two biases have a common origin, by examining their flexibility. Participants pointed to the locations of arithmetic results on a visually presented line with an inverted, right-to-left number arrangement. We found directionally opposite spatial biases for mental arithmetic and for a parity task administered both before and after the arithmetic task. We discuss implications of this dissociation in our results for the task-dependent cognitive representation of numbers. KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Mental number line KW - Operational momentum KW - Pointing KW - SNARC Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-014-0786-z SN - 1069-9384 SN - 1531-5320 VL - 22 IS - 4 SP - 993 EP - 1000 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mioni, Giovanna A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Heuristics and biases in the mental manipulation of magnitudes BT - Evidence from length and time production JF - Quarterly journal of experimental psychology / published in association with Experimental Psychology Society N2 - There is a debate about whether and why we overestimate addition and underestimate subtraction results (Operational Momentum or OM effect). Spatial-attentional accounts of OM compete with a model which postulates that OM reflects a weighted combination of multiple arithmetic heuristics and biases (AHAB). This study addressed this debate with the theoretically diagnostic distinction between zero problems (e.g., 3 + 0, 3 - 0) and non-zero problems (e.g., 2 + 1, 4 - 1) because AHAB, in contrast to all other accounts, uniquely predicts reverse OM for the latter problem type. In two tests (line-length production and time production), participants indeed produced shorter lines and under-estimated time intervals in non-zero additions compared with subtractions. This predicted interaction between operation and problem type extends OM to non-spatial magnitudes and highlights the strength of AHAB regarding different problem types and modalities during the mental manipulation of magnitudes. They also suggest that OM reflects methodological details, whereas reverse OM is the more representative behavioural signature of mental arithmetic. KW - Heuristics and biases KW - mental arithmetic KW - operational momentum KW - SNARC KW - effect Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021820967663 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 74 IS - 3 SP - 536 EP - 547 PB - SAGE Publishing CY - Thousand Oaks, CA ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Göbel, Silke M. A1 - McCrink, Koleen A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Observation of directional storybook reading influences young children’s counting direction JF - Journal of experimental child psychology N2 - Even before formal schooling, children map numbers onto space in a directional manner. The origin of this preliterate spatial–numerical association is still debated. We investigated the role of enculturation for shaping the directionality of the association between numbers and space, focusing on counting behavior in 3- to 5-year-old preliterate children. Two studies provide evidence that, after observing reading from storybooks (left-to-right or right-to-left reading) children change their counting direction in line with the direction of observed reading. Just observing visuospatial directional movements had no such effect on counting direction. Complementarily, we document that book illustrations, prevalent in children’s cultures, exhibit directionality that conforms to the direction of a culture’s written language. We propose that shared book reading activates spatiotemporal representations of order in young children, which in turn affect their spatial representation of numbers. KW - Counting direction KW - Cross-cultural KW - Mental number line KW - Reading KW - Spatial-numerical association KW - Preschool children Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.08.001 SN - 0022-0965 SN - 1096-0457 VL - 166 SP - 49 EP - 66 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin A1 - Winter, Bodo A1 - Felisatti, Arianna A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Jeglinski-Mende, Melinda A. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - More Instructions Make Fewer Subtractions JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - Research on problem solving offers insights into how humans process task-related information and which strategies they use (Newell and Simon, 1972; Öllinger et al., 2014). Problem solving can be defined as the search for possible changes in one's mind (Kahneman, 2003). In a recent study, Adams et al. (2021) assessed whether the predominant problem solving strategy when making changes involves adding or subtracting elements. In order to do this, they used several examples of simple problems, such as editing text or making visual patterns symmetrical, either in naturalistic settings or on-line. The essence of the authors' findings is a strong preference to add rather than subtract elements across a diverse range of problems, including the stabilizing of artifacts, creating symmetrical patterns, or editing texts. More specifically, they succeeded in demonstrating that “participants were less likely to identify advantageous subtractive changes when the task did not (vs. did) cue them to consider subtraction, when they had only one opportunity (vs. several) to recognize the shortcomings of an additive search strategy or when they were under a higher (vs. lower) cognitive load” (Adams et al., 2021, p. 258). Addition and subtraction are generally defined as de-contextualized mathematical operations using abstract symbols (Russell, 1903/1938). Nevertheless, understanding of both symbols and operations is informed by everyday activities, such as making or breaking objects (Lakoff and Núñez, 2000; Fischer and Shaki, 2018). The universal attribution of “addition bias” or “subtraction neglect” to problem solving activities is perhaps a convenient shorthand but it overlooks influential framing effects beyond those already acknowledged in the report and the accompanying commentary (Meyvis and Yoon, 2021). Most importantly, while Adams et al.'s study addresses an important issue, their very method of verbally instructing participants, together with lack of control over several known biases, might render their findings less than conclusive. Below, we discuss our concerns that emerged from the identified biases, namely those regarding the instructions and the experimental materials. Moreover, we refer to research from mathematical cognition that provides new insights into Adams et al.'s findings. KW - problem solving KW - addition KW - subtraction KW - cognitive bias KW - SNARC Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720616 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - Frontiers Media SA CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Repeating Numbers Reduces Results: Violations of the Identity Axiom in Mental Arithmetic JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Even simple mental arithmetic is fraught with cognitive biases. For example, adding repeated numbers (so-called tie problems, e.g., 2 + 2) not only has a speed and accuracy advantage over adding different numbers (e.g., 1 + 3) but may also lead to under-representation of the result relative to a standard value (Charras et al., 2012, 2014). Does the tie advantage merely reflect easier encoding or retrieval compared to non-ties, or also a distorted result representation? To answer this question, 47 healthy adults performed two tasks, both of which indicated under-representation of tie results: In a result-to-position pointing task (Experiment 1) we measured the spatial mapping of numbers and found a left-bias for tie compared to non-tie problems. In a result-to-line-length production task (Experiment 2) we measured the underlying magnitude representation directly and obtained shorter lines for tie-compared to non-tie problems. These observations suggest that the processing benefit of tie problems comes at the cost of representational reduction of result meaning. This conclusion is discussed in the context of a recent model of arithmetic heuristics and biases. KW - AHAB KW - cognitive bias KW - mental arithmetic KW - numerical cognition KW - operational momentum KW - SNARC KW - tie problems Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02453 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Spatial associations in numerical cognition-From single digits to arithmetic JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - The literature on spatial associations during number processing is dominated by the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect. We describe spatial biases found for single digits and pairs of numbers, first in the "original" speeded parity task and then extending the scope to encompass different tasks, a range of measures, and various populations. Then we review theoretical accounts before surveying the emerging evidence for similar spatial associations during mental arithmetic. We conclude that the mental number line hypothesis and an embodied approach are useful frameworks for further studies. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Numerical cognition KW - Operational momentum KW - Spatial-numerical association of response codes KW - SNARC Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.927515 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1461 EP - 1483 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Measuring spatial-numerical associations: evidence for a purely conceptual link JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - Previous work on spatial-numerical association (SNAs) included either spatially distributed stimuli or responses. This raises the possibility that the inferred spatial nature of number concepts was a methodological artifact. We present results from a novel task that involves two categories (spatially oriented objects and number magnitudes) and dissociates spatial classification from number classification. The results reveal SNAs without inferential limitations of previous work and point to a working memory mechanism that transfers spatial coding across categories. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-015-0646-0 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 80 SP - 109 EP - 112 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Implicit Spatial-Numerical Associations: Negative Numbers and the Role of Counting Direction JF - Journal of experimental psychology : Human perception and performance N2 - It has been debated whether negative number concepts are cognitively represented on the same mental number line as positive number concepts. The present study reviews this debate and identifies limitations of previous studies. A method with nonspatial stimuli and responses is applied to overcome these limitations and to document a systematic implicit association of negative numbers with left space, thus indicating a leftward extension of the mental number line. Importantly, this result only held for left-to-right counting adults. Implications for the experiential basis of abstract conceptual knowledge are discussed. KW - negative numbers KW - counting direction KW - embodied cognition KW - IAT KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000369 SN - 0096-1523 SN - 1939-1277 VL - 43 SP - 639 EP - 643 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Miklashevsky, Alex A. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Commentary : The Developmental Trajectory of the Operational Momentum Effect JF - Frontiers in Psychology KW - embodied cognition KW - operational momentum KW - SNARC effect KW - mental arithmetic KW - numerical cognition Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02259 SN - 1664-1078 N1 - A Commentary on The Developmental Trajectory of the Operational Momentum Effect by Pinheiro-Chagas, P., Didino, D., Haase, V. G., Wood, G., and Knops, A. (2018). Front. Psychol. 9:1062 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01062 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Felisatti, Arianna A1 - Laubrock, Jochen A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Commentary BT - A mental number line in human newborns JF - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience KW - spatial-numerical associations KW - SNARC KW - mental number line (MNL) KW - spatial frequency (SF) KW - temporal frequency KW - hemispheric asymmetry KW - newborns KW - embodied cognition Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00099 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 14 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Felisatti, Arianna A1 - Laubrock, Jochen A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - A biological foundation for spatial–numerical associations BT - the brain's asymmetric frequency tuning JF - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences N2 - "Left" and "right" coordinates control our spatial behavior and even influence abstract thoughts. For number concepts, horizontal spatial-numerical associations (SNAs) have been widely documented: we associate few with left and many with right. Importantly, increments are universally coded on the right side even in preverbal humans and nonhuman animals, thus questioning the fundamental role of directional cultural habits, such as reading or finger counting. Here, we propose a biological, nonnumerical mechanism for the origin of SNAs on the basis of asymmetric tuning of animal brains for different spatial frequencies (SFs). The resulting selective visual processing predicts both universal SNAs and their context-dependence. We support our proposal by analyzing the stimuli used to document SNAs in newborns for their SF content. As predicted, the SFs contained in visual patterns with few versus many elements preferentially engage right versus left brain hemispheres, respectively, thus predicting left-versus rightward behavioral biases. Our "brain's asymmetric frequency tuning" hypothesis explains the perceptual origin of horizontal SNAs for nonsymbolic visual numerosities and might be extensible to the auditory domain. KW - hemispheric asymmetry KW - numerical cognition KW - SNARC effect KW - spatial KW - frequency tuning KW - spatial-numerical associations KW - spatial vision Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14418 SN - 0077-8923 SN - 1749-6632 VL - 1477 IS - 1 SP - 44 EP - 53 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Felisatti, Arianna A1 - Aagten-Murphy, David A1 - Laubrock, Jochen A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - The brain’s asymmetric frequency tuning BT - asymmetric behavior originates from asymmetric perception JF - Symmetry / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) N2 - To construct a coherent multi-modal percept, vertebrate brains extract low-level features (such as spatial and temporal frequencies) from incoming sensory signals. However, because frequency processing is lateralized with the right hemisphere favouring low frequencies while the left favours higher frequencies, this introduces asymmetries between the hemispheres. Here, we describe how this lateralization shapes the development of several cognitive domains, ranging from visuo-spatial and numerical cognition to language, social cognition, and even aesthetic appreciation, and leads to the emergence of asymmetries in behaviour. We discuss the neuropsychological and educational implications of these emergent asymmetries and suggest future research approaches. KW - asymmetry KW - global KW - local KW - spatial frequencies KW - temporal frequencies KW - embodied cognition Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12122083 SN - 2073-8994 VL - 12 IS - 12 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - D'Ascenzo, Stefania A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Lugli, Luisa T1 - Number to me, space to you BT - joint representation of spatial-numerical associations JF - Psychonomic bulletin & review : a journal of the Psychonomic Society N2 - Recent work has shown that number concepts activate both spatial and magnitude representations. According to the social co-representation literature which has shown that participants typically represent task components assigned to others together with their own, we asked whether explicit magnitude meaning and explicit spatial coding must be present in a single mind, or can be distributed across two minds, to generate a spatial-numerical congruency effect. In a shared go/no-go task that eliminated peripheral spatial codes, we assigned explicit magnitude processing to participants and spatial processing to either human or non-human co-agents. The spatial-numerical congruency effect emerged only with human co-agents. We demonstrate an inter-personal level of conceptual congruency between space and number that arises from a shared conceptual representation not contaminated by peripheral spatial codes. Theoretical implications of this finding for numerical cognition are discussed. KW - Social co-representation KW - Conceptual congruency effect KW - Numerical KW - cognition KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-02013-9 SN - 1069-9384 SN - 1531-5320 VL - 29 IS - 2 SP - 485 EP - 491 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borghi, Anna M. A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Abstract concepts: external influences, internal constraints, and methodological issues JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - There is a longstanding and widely held misconception about the relative remoteness of abstract concepts from concrete experiences. This review examines the current evidence for external influences and internal constraints on the processing, representation, and use of abstract concepts, like truth, friendship, and number. We highlight the theoretical benefit of distinguishing between grounded and embodied cognition and then ask which roles do perception, action, language, and social interaction play in acquiring, representing and using abstract concepts. By reviewing several studies, we show that they are, against the accepted definition, not detached from perception and action. Focussing on magnitude-related concepts, we also discuss evidence for cultural influences on abstract knowledge and explore how internal processes such as inner speech, metacognition, and inner bodily signals (interoception) influence the acquisition and retrieval of abstract knowledge. Finally, we discuss some methodological developments. Specifically, we focus on the importance of studies that investigate the time course of conceptual processing and we argue that, because of the paramount role of sociality for abstract concepts, new methods are necessary to study concepts in interactive situations. We conclude that bodily, linguistic, and social constraints provide important theoretical limitations for our theories of conceptual knowledge. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-022-01698-4 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 86 SP - 2370 EP - 2388 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borghi, Anna M. A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Concrete constraints on abstract concepts-editorial JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - This special issue, "Concrete constraints of abstract concepts", addresses the role of concrete determinants, both external and internal to the human body, in acquisition, processing and use of abstract concepts while at the same time presenting to the readers an overview of methods used to assess their representation. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-022-01685-9 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 86 SP - 2366 EP - 2369 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aarts, Alexander A. A1 - Anderson, Joanna E. A1 - Anderson, Christopher J. A1 - Attridge, Peter R. A1 - Attwood, Angela A1 - Axt, Jordan A1 - Babel, Molly A1 - Bahnik, Stepan A1 - Baranski, Erica A1 - Barnett-Cowan, Michael A1 - Bartmess, Elizabeth A1 - Beer, Jennifer A1 - Bell, Raoul A1 - Bentley, Heather A1 - Beyan, Leah A1 - Binion, Grace A1 - Borsboom, Denny A1 - Bosch, Annick A1 - Bosco, Frank A. A1 - Bowman, Sara D. A1 - Brandt, Mark J. A1 - Braswell, Erin A1 - Brohmer, Hilmar A1 - Brown, Benjamin T. A1 - Brown, Kristina A1 - Bruening, Jovita A1 - Calhoun-Sauls, Ann A1 - Callahan, Shannon P. A1 - Chagnon, Elizabeth A1 - Chandler, Jesse A1 - Chartier, Christopher R. A1 - Cheung, Felix A1 - Christopherson, Cody D. A1 - Cillessen, Linda A1 - Clay, Russ A1 - Cleary, Hayley A1 - Cloud, Mark D. A1 - Cohn, Michael A1 - Cohoon, Johanna A1 - Columbus, Simon A1 - Cordes, Andreas A1 - Costantini, Giulio A1 - Alvarez, Leslie D. Cramblet A1 - Cremata, Ed A1 - Crusius, Jan A1 - DeCoster, Jamie A1 - DeGaetano, Michelle A. A1 - Della Penna, Nicolas A1 - den Bezemer, Bobby A1 - Deserno, Marie K. A1 - Devitt, Olivia A1 - Dewitte, Laura A1 - Dobolyi, David G. A1 - Dodson, Geneva T. A1 - Donnellan, M. Brent A1 - Donohue, Ryan A1 - Dore, Rebecca A. A1 - Dorrough, Angela A1 - Dreber, Anna A1 - Dugas, Michelle A1 - Dunn, Elizabeth W. A1 - Easey, Kayleigh A1 - Eboigbe, Sylvia A1 - Eggleston, Casey A1 - Embley, Jo A1 - Epskamp, Sacha A1 - Errington, Timothy M. A1 - Estel, Vivien A1 - Farach, Frank J. A1 - Feather, Jenelle A1 - Fedor, Anna A1 - Fernandez-Castilla, Belen A1 - Fiedler, Susann A1 - Field, James G. A1 - Fitneva, Stanka A. A1 - Flagan, Taru A1 - Forest, Amanda L. A1 - Forsell, Eskil A1 - Foster, Joshua D. A1 - Frank, Michael C. A1 - Frazier, Rebecca S. A1 - Fuchs, Heather A1 - Gable, Philip A1 - Galak, Jeff A1 - Galliani, Elisa Maria A1 - Gampa, Anup A1 - Garcia, Sara A1 - Gazarian, Douglas A1 - Gilbert, Elizabeth A1 - Giner-Sorolla, Roger A1 - Glöckner, Andreas A1 - Göllner, Lars A1 - Goh, Jin X. A1 - Goldberg, Rebecca A1 - Goodbourn, Patrick T. A1 - Gordon-McKeon, Shauna A1 - Gorges, Bryan A1 - Gorges, Jessie A1 - Goss, Justin A1 - Graham, Jesse A1 - Grange, James A. A1 - Gray, Jeremy A1 - Hartgerink, Chris A1 - Hartshorne, Joshua A1 - Hasselman, Fred A1 - Hayes, Timothy A1 - Heikensten, Emma A1 - Henninger, Felix A1 - Hodsoll, John A1 - Holubar, Taylor A1 - Hoogendoorn, Gea A1 - Humphries, Denise J. A1 - Hung, Cathy O. -Y. A1 - Immelman, Nathali A1 - Irsik, Vanessa C. A1 - Jahn, Georg A1 - Jaekel, Frank A1 - Jekel, Marc A1 - Johannesson, Magnus A1 - Johnson, Larissa G. A1 - Johnson, David J. A1 - Johnson, Kate M. A1 - Johnston, William J. A1 - Jonas, Kai A1 - Joy-Gaba, Jennifer A. A1 - Kappes, Heather Barry A1 - Kelso, Kim A1 - Kidwell, Mallory C. A1 - Kim, Seung Kyung A1 - Kirkhart, Matthew A1 - Kleinberg, Bennett A1 - Knezevic, Goran A1 - Kolorz, Franziska Maria A1 - Kossakowski, Jolanda J. A1 - Krause, Robert Wilhelm A1 - Krijnen, Job A1 - Kuhlmann, Tim A1 - Kunkels, Yoram K. A1 - Kyc, Megan M. A1 - Lai, Calvin K. A1 - Laique, Aamir A1 - Lakens, Daniel A1 - Lane, Kristin A. A1 - Lassetter, Bethany A1 - Lazarevic, Ljiljana B. A1 - LeBel, Etienne P. A1 - Lee, Key Jung A1 - Lee, Minha A1 - Lemm, Kristi A1 - Levitan, Carmel A. A1 - Lewis, Melissa A1 - Lin, Lin A1 - Lin, Stephanie A1 - Lippold, Matthias A1 - Loureiro, Darren A1 - Luteijn, Ilse A1 - Mackinnon, Sean A1 - Mainard, Heather N. A1 - Marigold, Denise C. A1 - Martin, Daniel P. A1 - Martinez, Tylar A1 - Masicampo, E. J. A1 - Matacotta, Josh A1 - Mathur, Maya A1 - May, Michael A1 - Mechin, Nicole A1 - Mehta, Pranjal A1 - Meixner, Johannes A1 - Melinger, Alissa A1 - Miller, Jeremy K. A1 - Miller, Mallorie A1 - Moore, Katherine A1 - Möschl, Marcus A1 - Motyl, Matt A1 - Müller, Stephanie M. A1 - Munafo, Marcus A1 - Neijenhuijs, Koen I. A1 - Nervi, Taylor A1 - Nicolas, Gandalf A1 - Nilsonne, Gustav A1 - Nosek, Brian A. A1 - Nuijten, Michele B. A1 - Olsson, Catherine A1 - Osborne, Colleen A1 - Ostkamp, Lutz A1 - Pavel, Misha A1 - Penton-Voak, Ian S. A1 - Perna, Olivia A1 - Pernet, Cyril A1 - Perugini, Marco A1 - Pipitone, R. Nathan A1 - Pitts, Michael A1 - Plessow, Franziska A1 - Prenoveau, Jason M. A1 - Rahal, Rima-Maria A1 - Ratliff, Kate A. A1 - Reinhard, David A1 - Renkewitz, Frank A1 - Ricker, Ashley A. A1 - Rigney, Anastasia A1 - Rivers, Andrew M. A1 - Roebke, Mark A1 - Rutchick, Abraham M. A1 - Ryan, Robert S. A1 - Sahin, Onur A1 - Saide, Anondah A1 - Sandstrom, Gillian M. A1 - Santos, David A1 - Saxe, Rebecca A1 - Schlegelmilch, Rene A1 - Schmidt, Kathleen A1 - Scholz, Sabine A1 - Seibel, Larissa A1 - Selterman, Dylan Faulkner A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Simpson, William B. A1 - Sinclair, H. Colleen A1 - Skorinko, Jeanine L. M. A1 - Slowik, Agnieszka A1 - Snyder, Joel S. A1 - Soderberg, Courtney A1 - Sonnleitner, Carina A1 - Spencer, Nick A1 - Spies, Jeffrey R. A1 - Steegen, Sara A1 - Stieger, Stefan A1 - Strohminger, Nina A1 - Sullivan, Gavin B. A1 - Talhelm, Thomas A1 - Tapia, Megan A1 - te Dorsthorst, Anniek A1 - Thomae, Manuela A1 - Thomas, Sarah L. A1 - Tio, Pia A1 - Traets, Frits A1 - Tsang, Steve A1 - Tuerlinckx, Francis A1 - Turchan, Paul A1 - Valasek, Milan A1 - Van Aert, Robbie A1 - van Assen, Marcel A1 - van Bork, Riet A1 - van de Ven, Mathijs A1 - van den Bergh, Don A1 - van der Hulst, Marije A1 - van Dooren, Roel A1 - van Doorn, Johnny A1 - van Renswoude, Daan R. A1 - van Rijn, Hedderik A1 - Vanpaemel, Wolf A1 - Echeverria, Alejandro Vasquez A1 - Vazquez, Melissa A1 - Velez, Natalia A1 - Vermue, Marieke A1 - Verschoor, Mark A1 - Vianello, Michelangelo A1 - Voracek, Martin A1 - Vuu, Gina A1 - Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan A1 - Weerdmeester, Joanneke A1 - Welsh, Ashlee A1 - Westgate, Erin C. A1 - Wissink, Joeri A1 - Wood, Michael A1 - Woods, Andy A1 - Wright, Emily A1 - Wu, Sining A1 - Zeelenberg, Marcel A1 - Zuni, Kellylynn T1 - Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science JF - Science N2 - Reproducibility is a defining feature of science, but the extent to which it characterizes current research is unknown. We conducted replications of 100 experimental and correlational studies published in three psychology journals using high-powered designs and original materials when available. Replication effects were half the magnitude of original effects, representing a substantial decline. Ninety-seven percent of original studies had statistically significant results. Thirty-six percent of replications had statistically significant results; 47% of original effect sizes were in the 95% confidence interval of the replication effect size; 39% of effects were subjectively rated to have replicated the original result; and if no bias in original results is assumed, combining original and replication results left 68% with statistically significant effects. Correlational tests suggest that replication success was better predicted by the strength of original evidence than by characteristics of the original and replication teams. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716 SN - 1095-9203 SN - 0036-8075 VL - 349 IS - 6251 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER -